There are no guarantees in compliance, nor in most cases can we offer them. For example, a request was made by a customer who wanted me to sign a paper guaranteeing that our wireless system when installed in his medical facility would not cause any, repeat "any," harmful interference to his systems operating in a facility I had never seen.

With the knowledge that if I signed such a document our legal department would have me stood up in front of a wall and shot, common sense reigned and I did not sign any document to that effect. There was just no way to guarantee that.

I thought the matter had died until I was informed by the vendor bidding on the project that I had lost the account to his competitor who had signed such a document for the facility. I asked the vendor why he did not sign the document since he was designing and installing the system and it was his responsibility to make sure the systems complied. He stated that we as the manufacturer are responsible for compliance and should guarantee compliance in all cases per the FCC rules.

Unfortunately, that is the belief of some, that the manufacturer is responsible for the compliant operation of wireless systems. This, however, is not true. The manufacturer is responsible for designing the system to the required regulatory specifications and making sure the product is properly certified before placing it on the market. The manufacturer is also responsible to make sure that information on operation and proper accessories such as approved antennas is provided.

However, the system operator, whether a service provider, licensed radio operator or, in the case of a Part 15 device, the user is responsible for compliant operation of the device. Therefore, if a vendor or customer buys a Part 15 WLAN radio and makes any undue changes such as using a non approved antenna, a third party amplifier, or makes any unauthorized changes, or installs it or operates it improperly, then they are the responsible party for addressing compliance.

Once again there will be a joint meeting of the RAC and SAC committees at the 2002 IEEE International Symposium on EMC in Minneapolis. It will be held on Monday, August 19th at noon at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. At this time, I invite the RAC and SAC members to attend this luncheon as well as the members of the EMC Society Board of Directors. We will discuss several issues including possible changes to the RAC. Hope to see everyone there. EMC